Citrus Hollow Rewrite
by Isangtao
Summary: Rewrite of "Citrus Hollow". Yuzu can finally see ghosts, but of course this does not bode well with her family. As they to protect her in the only way they know how, sinister forces stir in the background.


**Disclaimer: If you recognize any series in this work of fiction, then I don't own it.**

**Citrus Hollow Rewrite**

**Chapter 1**

The ghost had died two years ago, and during that time, nobody but his fellow ghosts have bothered him in the slightest. Also during that time he had realized that he could no longer interact with the living, and the living in turn cannot do anything to him.

Which was why he was understandably freaked out when a young girl had been staring at him for the past thirty minutes.

He tried to lose her into a crowd of pedestrians, using the fact that he can pass through solid objects as an advantage. But the girl was persistent. What's more, it's almost as if she knew the entire town like the back of her hand. Each time he thought he had gotten away from her, she would suddenly appear right in front of him, looking into his eyes as if he was the most interesting thing in the world.

Well, being a ghost, he might as well be.

After almost thirty minutes of trying to lose her, he had enough. He turned around and confronted her directly.

"Look, what's so special about me that you've been following me for the last half hour? If it's about the chain in my chest, then I have no idea what it is," he said, visibly irritated. Truth be told, he honestly had no idea why he has a chain connected to his chest. He noticed that all the other ghosts had them as well, but none of them knew why either.

The girl must have finally realized that she had been chasing him all around town, because her eyes widened and started she bowing again and again.  
"Ahh, I'm so sorry ghost-san! It's just that I'm the only one in my family that can't see ghosts and now I can so I was very excited that I can finally see one!" she exclaimed.

She bowed deeply in front of him.  
"I hope I'm not being a bother! I'm sorry!"

Now, he was obviously annoyed that she had driven him to a wild goose chase around town, but the look on her face told him that she was telling the truth.

He sighed. He could never get angry at a little kid. That had gotten him in trouble once before, when he let an eight year old steal candy from the sweets at the counter. Boy was the management angry.

"That's alright," he said, "just...say something instead of just stare the whole time okay?"

The girl beamed widely. "Yes, thank you!" she replied. She gave a small bow.

"I have to go now ghost-san, see you around!"

She turned and walked away, her small bag of groceries swinging in her hands.

The ghost waved goodbye to the girl and went back to his usual spot on the other side of town. That's when he realized that her never asked for her name.

Yuzu Kurosaki was very excited. She was the only member of her family who can't see the supernatural, and she was rather jealous of her brother and sister. So when a ghost that was previously a mere outline was suddenly visible before her very eyes, she utterly pounced on the opportunity to meet and interact with the afterlife.

She ran home, which was thankfully made nearer by the chase earlier, and made it there just in time to see her father talking with a strange man Yuzu occasionally saw wandering around the neighborhood. Isshin-otousan called him Urahara, and told her that while Urahara was eccentric to a slightly disturbing degree, he was kind hearted and means no harm.

She was just about to announce her presence when she heard her father speak.

"Damn it Urahara, I don't want her involved in all of this!"

Yuzu paused. Isshin was obviously talking about someone. Being a bit of a gossip, she decided to hide and eavesdrop. Urahara started speaking.

"You know as well as I do that her spiritual pressure is increasing every day. I won't be surprised if she can see ghosts by now," he said.

Yuzu wrinkled her eyebrows. Were they talking about her? She listened in more closely.

"If I could do something about it, I would have done so years ago Isshin. I'm not happy with this situation either," continued Urahara.

Isshin sighed. "It's just, Yuzu's the only one in our family who has a chance to live a normal life. Ichigo's already neck deep in the troubles of Soul Society and Karin is following his path. I don't want another member of my family to be caught up in all this mess!" he said.

Yuzu heard the opening of a fan. "I can sympathize with you. By the way, how's your excuse on leaving for Soul Society going? I know that Yuzu's the most well-informed person in the entire household when it comes to social events, you sure you know how to handle it?" asked Urahara.

"To be honest, I'm not sure myself. I think we may need to reschedule everything so that she'd not get suspicious, is there any way to convince the higher-ups?"

"Working on it, but prepare your belongings for tomorrow just in case."

Yuzu can hear more words being exchanged, but she's heard enough. She left quietly, not wanting to be noticed by her father and Urahara. Tears brimming in her eyes, she decided to go to the park and come back to the house later, reasoning that otou-san might not be too happy if he knew that she was listening in on their conversation.

-Later-

She walked aimlessly, her mind running the conversation again and again.

_'It's not fair,'_ she thought. It's bad enough that she was the only one who couldn't see ghosts, but for them to keep things from her as well? Didn't she have the right be be informed of what the family secret is? At the very least they can tell her what's going on, so she wouldn't have to worry about them? She's practically the mother to all of them now, and she's just eleven!

She sat on a swing, letting her tears fall freely.

"Mom, what would you do?" she asked herself. She didn't remember much about her mother, but from what Ichigo and Isshin told her, she was the pillar of the family, the emotional rock that they stood upon for support. When she died, the entire household was devastated. Yuzu took it upon herself to become what her mother was, to try and replace the light that her death had snuffed out. But she knew that it was an impossible task. Try as she might to provide a home for her father, twin sister, and elder brother, she understood that she could never truly replace the light that Masaki-okaasan had made in their hearts.

She sat there for a long time, that when she realized that she had to go home, it was already dark.

What she didn't notice were a pair of bright yellow eyes hiding behind the bushes. The eyes blinked out of existence as Yuzu ran back home.

"Ah, Yuzu you're back. What took you so long? We had to buy outside for dinner," asked Ichigo when Yuzu came panting into the living room. Isshin was slumped on one corner of the room, unconscious, while Karin was watching TV.

"Sorry Ichi-nii, there was a long line at the grocery," she said, holding up her bag of purchases. Seeing the food in front of her, microwaveable noodles and breaded shrimp, she let the bag down. "I guess I'll have to save it for tomorrow then," she added.

Yuzu had a particular bias against instant meals, believing them inferior to home cooked food, but she didn't complain as she slurped the hot soup and bit into one large piece of shrimp.

"By the way Yuzu, dad got an emergency call earlier. Apparently there was a huge car accident in Tokyo, and they need all the doctors they can get. Dad's been called in to work there and we're coming along with him," said Ichigo.

"Eh? But I haven't heard anything in the news," replied Yuzu.

Just then Karin flipped the channel to a news program. The headline was entitled "Tokyo Car Pileup Leaves 30 Dead". A TV reporter who looked suspiciously like Rukia-neechan was on the scene, behind her were hunks of twisted metal that were once cars.

"Just a few hours ago, a massive car accidentcaused traffic to grind to a screeching halt in the heart of Tokyo. Officials still aren't sure what caused the incident, but preliminary investigations suggest that one car slammed into the concrete barrier before spinning out of control, hitting other cars and setting the stage for one of the largest vehicular accidents in Japan's history," said the TV announcer.

Yuzu guessed that this must be the excuse that her father and Urahara-san were talking about earlier, but she kept that thought to herself.

"But why would you and Karin-chan come with otou-san? Why couldn't I come?" she asked.

Ichigo bit his lip, as if trying hard not to show any emotion. "I'm going because old man is gonna need a porter to carry the luggage around."

"And I'm coming because I'll act as a nurse for him," said Karin.

"We need you to watch the house for a few days," said Ichigo, "Don't worry, I'll have Orihime and Tatsuki sleep over to keep you company, alright?" he added when Yuzu showed concern over being left alone in the house.

Yuzu smiled slightly at the prospect of seeing her brother's friend Orihime Inoue. The always happy orange haired girl shared Yuzu's love for food; her strange recipes actually tasted nice once you got past the vomit inducing appearance.

Tatsuki-neesan was nice enough. Yuzu knew that her and Ichigo were childhood friends, and she was always fun to be around. Sometimes she would even teach her some karate moves.

Yuzu got up from her seat. "I guess I'll be preparing boxed meals then, what do you guys want to eat tomorrow?"

"That's won't be necessary Yuzu. We'll be leaving early so you don't have to make something," insisted Ichigo. Karin mumbled something about eggs while otou-san was still sleeping.

"That's alright, I'm going to make it tonight. And I just can't let my groceries go to waste you know," replied Yuzu. She put her hands to her hips in fake annoyance.

Ichigo made a face that looked like he was guilty. "If you insist. I'll have anything as long as it's easy to eat." He picked up a piece of shrimp to add to the effect.

Karin got up from her seat. "I'll be heading up now to pack my things, Ichi-nii you should do the same too." Ichigo nodded and got up from his chair as well.

"Karin, can you pack for dad too, I'm going to drag him up to his room," he said. Yuzu's twin sister only gave a grunt of annoyance, but nevertheless agreed.

Yuzu heard three doors shut behind her, and she was left alone in the kitchen. As she cut the onions to tiny pieces, she let her cheerful facade fall, and allowed tears to stream down her eyes. The onions had nothing to do with it.

-The next day-

The rental car was a small thing. Barely able to fit three people, Yuzu thought it could be put in a toy store and not look out of place. Now Ichigo was stuffing three suitcases into the trunk that was probably meant to not have anything put in it at all.

"Are you sure you're okay with this Yuzu? I mean, I could always call the city and ask if they would allow you to come with us," asked Isshin.

"It's okay, Ichi-nii promised that Orihime-neesan and Tatsuki-neesan will be coming over, so I'll be fine," she replied.

That's when Isshin suddenly wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "My sweet daughter's all grown up! Masaki, are you watching this, you're baby is about to li-"

Her father was smacked over the head by Karin. "Keep it down old man, you're waking up the entire neighborhood!"

"All right, that's everything," huffed Ichigo. The trunk looked like it would burst at any moment, at the slightest provocation. He ran a hand through his hair to remove the sweat.

The three Kurosakis entered the small vehicle.

"Bye Yuzu, take care," said Ichigo. Karin said something similar and Isshin looked like he was about to shout again until he saw the other two's glare, but which point he opted for a simple wave of his hand. Yuzu waved back, her happy expression not reaching the sadness in her heart. When the car turned a corner and out of her sight, Yuzu dropped her hand. She walked back inside the house. Though they said that they would only be gone for a few days, somehow she knew that would be eating breakfast alone from now on. Yuzu stared at the solitary plate on the kitchen table, it made her blood boil. With an anguished scream she hurled the object that she had been holding, a cup, into the wall. It shattered into a thousand pieces, and Yuzu knew she was going to have to clean it up before going to school, but for now she needed some way to let off her anger at her family.

From a far away distance, perched on top of a high-rise building, something sinister followed her every movement, taking careful notes on her actions. Then it disappeared to report its findings to its master.

As Yuzu's form faded into the next block, Isshin suddenly made a turn and headed in a direction opposite Tokyo, where Urahara was waiting for them to enter Soul Society.

"I still feel bad about leaving Yuzu behind," said Ichigo. He was none too pleased at the prospect of leaving Yuzu behind. The messenger who delivered that news should still be in the hospital; he hoped Hanataro would be the guy's caretaker, otherwise he'd finish what he started when he arrived, with or without Captain Soifon's blessing.

"All of us do Ichigo. But we'll only attract more trouble if we stay, she'll be safer if we're in Soul Society," said Isshin.

"It's not fair," interjected Karin. She had helped beat up the messenger alongside Ichigo. "We should have at least told her what's really happening." It pained her to see that her sister was not being given the same treatment as her. Sure, she had acquired Shinigami powers (the details of how that happened are sketchy at most and a drunken slur at worst) and Yuzu hadn't, but that doesn't mean she had to be left in the dark!

"I know Karin, I know," replied Isshin as he turned an intersection. He didn't attack the messenger, but that's because he thought it would be overkill if he did.

-Unknown Location-

"I see, so all of the Kurosakis but one have gone to Soul Society," said a bespectacled man sitting on a very large couch.

"Yes Aizen-sama," said the hollow scout.

Aizen stroked his chin. "We can no longer attempt to bait Ichigo Kurosaki is he is in Soul Society," he said, his mind a hive of activity as he tries to amend his strategy to fit this unforeseen scenario. How he hated to have things not go his way. Still, he had always found a way to have things be in his favor.

The original plan was a very complicated and confusing maneuver that even he is not convinced will work properly. Aizen found himself chuckling slightly at the memory of how incredibly insane their first draft of "Operation: Invasion of Soul Society" was.

Then came Ichigo Kurosaki, and in him Aizen found the perfectpawn; brash, loyal to his friends, and powerful, and Aizen changed his plans accordingly. A simple kidnapping of one of Ichigo's friends is infinitely more plausible than trying to have Gin seduce all the female Captains into being trapped in Hueco Mundo. Tosen was blind so he was out of the picture.

Now Soul Society has provided its protection and guidance, and no doubt Ichigo will come out of it wiser and less prone to making stupid decisions. With this new development, another change of tactics need to be made.

He got up from his chair and walked to the window. Las Noches was a huge complex. Not even from where he was standing, the highest point in the entire compound, could Aizen see the end of it. But he wasn't concerned with that at the moment.

He picked up a small green pill. "But perhaps we can use it to our advantage. The one that remained is angry at her family you say?" he told the hollow.

"Yes."

Aizen smiled. "Then let us give her a way to vent her animosity."

**Author's Note: **This is a rewrite of my other story Citrus Hollow. I felt that the original was going nowhere and that Yuzu was starting to go way out of character. Hopefully this rewrite will fix that mistake.

I will admit now, I am not a psychologist and I don't know how the human mind will react in Yuzu's situation, so you'll have to forgive me when I make errors.

Hope you enjoy it!


End file.
